Dye Crimson in White
by bluewings42
Summary: "The world of crime is like an apple, removing the peel makes it look more digestible. You have to eat the apple next. That's what Light forgot to do. As his successor, I can accomplish just that." NearOC
1. The Lake

"_Death was in that poisonous wave,_

_And in its gulf a fitting grave_

_For him who thence could solace bring_

_To his lone imagining-_

_Whose solitary soul could make_

_An Eden of that dim lake."_

Excerpt from the poem "The Lake" by Edgar Allan Poe

* * *

><p>In my dreams, I was constantly engulfed. Engulfed in the flames of hatred and sorrow. And I was not saved. I can't be saved. I thrown away coat and mask so I could freely bare myself to darkness. Let it consume me, burn me, until I no longer knew who I was. Let it engulf me and now I will become the darkness.<p>

But then it would come. The rain, in rolling, warped clouds; it comes pouring down upon me. I hated it, despised it. Why wouldn't it let me disappear? Why does it have to interfere? It had no right to.

I would shout to the rain but it continued to wash away the soot and ashes of the darkness off me. I crumpled into a ball, hiding. I grabbed onto the remains of the fire and hid. But I know the rain will find me again.

One day, it will create a sea and drown me. The pressure of the rain and coils of waves will cage me to the bottom. Steal the remnants of my breath and my sanity, it will trap me.

But I'll burn before that. I'll smolder into nothing, and watch it wash away my ashes.

Everyday, I look outside I was greeted with the same monochrome scenarios. The color had long bled out of the scenery as days went by the same. Faces were white-washed and voices turned to faint whispers. Things that happen today will soon disappear down a looped drain and replayed again for tomorrow.

There was nothing new, and I hated it. Nothing special, nothing different, absolutely nothing about this life worth living for. And I played along. Like parasites, the people came close just to take what little color I have of myself into them. But I've become way too uncaring. So I let them try to steal what's left of my once flourishing palette. But, just because I let them doesn't mean I'll make it easy.

Then, along came Kira. Like a tipped can of paint, it splashed onto the world of black and white, and created a new painting. The paint was red, dyed by the color of his justice. But people embraced it. Because it was interesting, it was new. The population soaked it in, wanting more, and Kira provided.

I was still young then so I didn't understand what was happening. But Kira wasn't a guiding light to me, it was black hole. It warped the time, and the mind, and played them on his little stage. The show always ends unfinished, and the curtain closes. And we wait once more for them to unseal themselves again. When it does, it was a new story.

There's no ending. But no one cared. Because Kira was a type of Justice. Kira was a thought. Kira was an idea. And you can't kill an idea. It'll always be there, in the back of our minds, in our dreams, slowly dissolving into your consciousness, trying to find the right person.

I didn't want an ending. So, I took it to myself to write a new story. Not just one though, that will finish too soon. Let it be an allegory then, so when one story ends, I can escape to the second.

* * *

><p>"Ryuuk, stop eating apples above my bed." The black winged shinigami heard and slowly floated from my bed to perch on the edge of the balcony. I heard the irritating crunching resume. I sighed tiredly, trying not to imagine my comforter dirtied from apple juice stains and then having to wash them.<p>

"You haven't written anything recently," the monster dully noted, "Starting to feel guilty?"

I smirked up at him, eyes narrowing in slight disgust. "Guilty? What's to be guilty about?"

To be guilty of something for the better good of this world? Hardly. Ryuuk didn't reply and simply continued eating.

"Say Ryuuk, tell more about him."

"About whom?" he replied, not really taking notice of the question as he continued to gorge himself with the apples.

I smiled. "The first Kira."

* * *

><p>Every time I saw my hand move across the page, I felt giddy. As the pencil I held completed a name, I wanted to laugh out loud in glee. It was truly exciting, this feeling. I could not blame Kira for being addicted.<p>

From across the room, Ryuuk stared at me, waiting for me to say something, a random observation, a thought, a surprise.

"What are you wondering about, Ryuuk?" I turned from the Death Note on my desk to its owner.

"I was wondering if you were inspired from Light. Are you trying to copy his ways, Lily?"

Light, I had gathered from my pestering, was the first Kira. A genius that had fallen for the Death Note due to boredom. It was quite fascinating, learning of my 'predecessor'. His sense of Justice was completely different from the world's but not far from mine.

But, he had a flaw. The petty criminals on TV and in jail were nothing compared to the abominations they stemmed from. Light should have figured that out but I guess once his mind was set, he didn't turn back fast enough to look.

"No, not really inspired by his sense of Justice, per say. And I'm definitely not trying to copy. I'm just motivated by the flaws of his judgment."

Ryuuk tilted his head, interested. "What would those flaws be?"

"All Light tried to eradicate was the top layer of the crime world. There's another layer deep down, and then the core which crime originates from." I placed my hands on top of each other and then moved them over an apple, explaining my logic.

Ryuuk didn't intervene so I continued. "The core is impossible to eradicate but just peeling off the surface layer of petty criminals that make themselves known will do nothing. You have to go for the inner layer, the layer where the ringleaders lie." I wriggled my fingers of my right hand that was sandwiched between my left hand and the apple.

"What layer would that be?"

"The mobs, the mafia, corrupt politicians, the crime syndicates that hide in the dark using disposable thieves, robbers and murders as the walls that block the light from getting to them."

I smiled to myself, pleased. "You get it now? Once those mobs and mafias that supply the offenders are killed, the base layer will fall and the surface layer of crime will collapse with it. Corruption will practically be eliminated at that point."

The never disappearing grin grew in wider and I could see he was starting to find this interesting.

"The core," he pointed to the apple, "Why can't it be destroyed?"

"Elementary," I picked the red fruit off the table and took a large bite out of it, chewing as obnoxiously as Ryuuk. "The core of the world's corruption is the human mind. How can possibly destroy all human minds?"

* * *

><p><em>Ryuk couldn't believe how lucky he was sometimes. And when he thought his excitement had ended with Light, he finds another human just as interesting.<em>

_When Midra came back to the Shinigami realm with her short-lived entertainment, he'decided he wanted to go to the human world again. It was really an impulse but with Midra's extra Death Note, he had nothing to lose. Ryuuk more than use to gambling after all._

_Of course, he liked his lucky pattern, so he let the black book of death carelessly drop to humans. And thus the curtains open again, a new game has started._

* * *

><p><em>"<em>I hope you're proud about dropping your notebook on my head, Shinigami."

_Those were the first words that the human had said when he found the the notebook's new owner. From there, he knew it was going to be interesting._

* * *

><p><span>Author's Note:<span> I'm actually back on FF. YAY! Near will appear next chapter so nobody start fretting in the comments saying that I labelled things wrong. BTW, please review!

*Lily's logic is weird, but I was thinking about how LIght could have succeeded when I thought of the whole "layers to the crime world".


	2. Tamerlane

_I was ambitious- have you known_

_The passion, father? You have not:_

_A cottager, I mark'd a throne_

_Of half the world as all my own,_

_And murmur'd at such lowly lot-_

_But, just like any other dream,_

_Upon the vapor of the dew_

_My own had past, did not the beam_

_Of beauty which did while it thro'_

~Excerpt from the poem "Tamerlane" by Edgar Allen Poe

* * *

><p><em>"I hope you're proud about dropping the notebook on my head, Shinigami."<em>

_Those were the first words that the human had said when he found the the notebook's new owner. She looked surprised, even frightened, but the fear washed off her face quickly as she gave Ryuuk a slight snarl._

_"I am the owner of the notebook, Ryuuk, though you don't seem as surprised as I thought."_

_"I've seen worst, trust me." He eyes darted from the notebook on her desk to the black winged beast before her. "Are you here to kill me and take back the Death Note?"_

_The shinigami tilted his head, and gave a low chuckle. "Humans are quite creative aren't they. I'm here to do no such thing. The notebook is yours right now."_

_She gaped in shock, "It's mine?"_

_"Though if you would like to relinquish possession, feel free. But I'll have to erase your memories."_

_She slowly turned, gently picking up the black book like a trophy. When she turned back to him, her eyes were still wide but a smile slowly started to spread on her face._

_"So, what's the catch? That can't be it."_

_"There is none. Though..."_

_"Though?"_

_"Since you've used the Death Note, don't think you'll go to heaven or hell when you die."_

_"That's good. I never believed in either of them."_

* * *

><p>All games have time limits, be it a limit you believe exists or just another rule. I do hate rules, so very, very much. But they add such an exhilarating factor to the game. To follow them mindlessly and then break all of them without anyone knowing.<p>

It's not cheating if no one knows. And no one has to.

"_Kira, you will be captured."_

The monochrome L in the T.V. threatened me with a mechanical voice. Threatening to steal away the colorful and independent world I want to create. A safe world. A beautiful world.

How dare he.

But, I'm a negotiable person. If you want to arrest me, capture me, kill me, fine.

I'll give you 4 months. After that, there's no stopping me.

L.

* * *

><p><em>[Near POV]<em>

It was clear, this current Kira was planning something. His killings are too constant.

"Near, 2 more criminals have died exactly at 4 o'clock Eastern Mountain Time." Gevanni announced. I didn't bother looking.

Ever since the announcement worldwide was made two weeks ago, Kira has begun to kill 2 criminals everyday at 4 o'clock Eastern Mountain Time . All from stabbing themselves in the heart. How very cruel of you, Kira.

This pattern was done on purpose. It's possible for Kira to choose the specific time zone to put on a fake persona so it is futile to determine immediately that is Kira's whereabouts; all victims are criminals worldwide. Alas, previously his killings have been random of sorts.

Does Kira feel challenged? Basing it on this sudden change, he must have put up a plan to find me and kill me. These kills were to state that he has accepted the chase proposed.

"Near, what do you think this Kira is planning?"

"Seeing how this happened after the broadcasting of the message, Kira is using these precise kills as sending a response to the challenge," I answered languidly.

"Near! One of the victims was holding a note at his death. You have to come see this!"

I immediately brought my attention to the monitors. One of today's victims, Andy Mortem, drug-addict and murderer, was lying on the concrete floor of the cell covered in blood. Several different shots of the mangled body was seen on the top monitors. The one that interested me most was the one in the center.

_My time is over_

_I know sin is not removed by death_

_And running away was my mistake_

_I was sold out to the police immediately_

_Even so, I still love my family_

_So dear God don't let them suffer_

_To keep me here will only shame them_

_Kira will give me the death I deserved_

_I'm waiting in Hell for my punishment_

_To my wife Lauren and my parents_

Right now, all I saw was a letter of deep remorse but, if it's Kira, he didn't put anything in like this unplanned.

"Commander Rester, check the victim's profile. Was he a pious man? Do all the family members named exits? Do all the events he stated happened?"

The man quickly flipped through a large stack of papers. "Uh... It states here he attended church regularly with his family and is married to Lauren Degas. He murdered his business partner after a very heated quarrel and tried to run to his cousin in the next state for help but his cousin didn't want to be involved in a murder so he called the police on him. He was sentenced to 10 years in jail. It seems everything in the letter is true."

I scowled. It seems this Kira is smarter than the other wannabes that had been trying to take the throne. At least he does his research.

"Print me a copy of the letter for examination," I demanded as I picked up a robot figurine from the ground.

"Here you are, Near." I took the sheet of paper as Lidner handed it to me. My eyes met poorly written English and bloody paper as I trained myself to find the message hidden inside.

Why make a victim make such a crude letter after having 2 criminals stab themselves to death for two weeks? What was Kira up to?

To think that someone posing as such a challenging threat as the original Kira had. The Death Note seems to have found dangerous hands. I began my habit of twirling my hair as my mind ran over all the facts.

But Kira was killing less criminals than any of the previous Kira. Less than ten a day. It's as if he is preying on something else. This Kira may not be after what previous Kira was trying to accomplish but killing criminals as a side job for the fun of it and killing other people who he disliked. It is a plausible theory. However, for this sudden 2 victims every 4 o'clock pattern to suddenly occur and then a note, it's hard to imagine that it is not what he is after. So what can he be planning?

2 victims, 4 o'clock

Suddenly, my eyes were looking at a whole new message.

_My _**time**_ is over_

_I know sin _**is**_ not removed by death_

_And _**running**_ away was my mistake_

_I was sold _**out**_ to the police immediately_

_Even _**so**_, I still love my family_

_So dear God _**don't**_ let them suffer_

_To _**keep**_ me here will only shame them_

_Kira will give _**me**_ the death I deserved_

_I'm _**waiting**_ in Hell for my punishment_

_To my wife _**L**_auren and my parents_

How could I have overlooked this? Of course, Kira, sending a children's code to propose a contest.

It doesn't matter what you want to play, I'll catch you without doubt, Kira.

* * *

><p><span>Author's Note:<span> Oh, it's on now! Near just had a _"Oh-no-you-didn't-bitch"_ moment. I had to, really. I hope I didn't make Near OOC. Near is such a hard person to capture correctly. His thinking process is a lot harder to process. Probably because I'm used to writing L-style and now I have to write it in the view of someone who is like L but more...crueler? I'm not sure how to put it.

Right now, Near thinks Kira is a guy just for the fact that its easier that way. When he finds facts that may prove Kira's a girl, he'll say it out loud. So no flames on how Lily is a girl Kira. I know! I created her. Near doesn't know. Yet. Next chapter is ALL about Lily. Hope you find her and her twisted mind interesting.

*BTW, all the excerpts in the beginning are the poems I found by Edgar Allen Poe (that guy is the best ever, even is he write emo stuff) that describe Lily's thoughts and feelings. I put them just for fun. They don't really go along with the story but take some time to read them if you'd like.

Who figured out the message before Near? If you did, comment so I may congratulate you damn geniuses.


End file.
